WWE Network

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 03.17.75

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 03.17.75

Yeah, so after the surprisingly well-received Big Time Wrestling rant (which still flopped, but people seemed to like it at least!) one of the topics was Spiros Arion, and people pointed out that there’s a couple of MSG shows on the Network featuring him!  And hey, I was intrigued enough by his brief appearance on the Detroit show to give this one a look and see him challenging Bruno Sammartino!

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – MSG 03.17.75

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Philadelphia Spectrum 08.27.88

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Philadelphia Spectrum 08.27.88

Off to Philly this time for another hour of old school house show goodness in the thick of Randy Savage’s first title reign, right before Summerslam 88.  Don’t worry, I’m running out of the hour-long versions on the Network to review.

Taped from Philly, PA.

Your hosts are Dick Graham, Superstar Graham & Lord Alfred Hayes.  Good lord.

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Boston Garden 12.07.85

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Boston Garden 12.07.85

Didn’t wanna watch that NWA Carnyland thing and AEW Dark was literally NINETY MINUTES of squash matches.  So instead, I’m just scrolling through the Network looking for stuff I haven’t reviewed before.  And this is as good as anything!

https://watch.wwe.com/episode/Boston-Garden-Dec-7-1985-94367

Taped from Boston, MA

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse Ventura

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Network Old School – Boston Garden 12.07.85

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – The War to Settle the Score! (02.18.85)

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The SmarK Rant for The War To Settle the Score – 02.18.85

So yeah, I’ve been wanting to do this one for a while, hoping that it would return to the WWE Network after being mysteriously removed a week into being posted.  And then it never was.  However, someone was paranoid enough to rescue the show before it got pulled, and sent it to me just before it disappeared.  Normally my policy is to only review stuff that’s available for everyone, but I just wanted to FINALLY give this one a look for you and these are weird times anyway.

As for this show, it’s a sequel to The Brawl to End It All and kind of a proto-Wrestlemania, taking place a month before the real deal.  Originally it was cut down to 30 minutes and aired live on MTV, but this is the full 2:20 show.

Taped from Madison Square Garden

Your hosts are Mean Gene & Gorilla Monsoon

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – The War to Settle the Score! (02.18.85)

The SmarK Rant for “A Future WWE: The FCW Story”

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The SmarK Rant for A Future WWE: The FCW Story

Hi from the past!  I’m putting a few shows “in the can” for later posting when I need content, and this is one of them.  So if you’re reading this after the coronavirus has wiped out the human race, hopefully it won’t affect my ad revenue too badly.  I am enjoying reviewing these documentary shows, I will say, because it’s much less stressful than trying to type up match recaps as they happen and editing in jokes on the fly.

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for “A Future WWE: The FCW Story”

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – AWA/NWA Nite of Champions II 12.29.85

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The SmarK Rant for NWA/AWA Nite of Champions II – 12.29.85

I actually keep finding random stuff on the Hidden Gems section of the Network that I’ve never watched before and I just go “WTF? Where did this come from?” This is another one of those things.

Taped from the Meadowlands in New Jersey, apparently drawing 12,000 people.

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – AWA/NWA Nite of Champions II 12.29.85

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – NWA Boogie Jam 84

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – NWA Boogie Jam 84 (03.17.84)

I totally forgot that this one got added as a Hidden Gem show a while back, mostly because the interface is such dogshit now that I can barely find anything unless I know exactly where I’m supposed to be looking.  And since Clash VI is apparently hacked to pieces on the Network anyway, we’ll go with this one as our second version of the Flair v. Steamboat celebration this weekend.

https://watch.wwe.com/program/Boogie-Jam-1984-103634

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – AWA Christmas Night 1986 12.25.86

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – AWA Brawl in St. Paul 12.25.86

Well, Hidden Gems might be gone now, but I’ve still got some left on the Network that I never had a chance to finish up.  And this is one that’s pretty appropriate for the season – The AWA Christmas night show in 1986, featuring the Rockers against Rose & Somers in a legendary cage match!

Taped from St. Paul, MN

Your hosts are Rod Trongard & Dick Jonkowski

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – AWA Christmas Night 1986 12.25.86

Tables Ladders And Chairs 2019

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Tables Ladders And Chairs 2019
Date: December 15, 2019
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Vic Joseph, Samoa Joe, Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’ll wrap up the decade with this one as the show doesn’t exactly feel all that important. Unless one is added later, there are no singles titles on the line tonight. I’m not sure how long it has been since that was the case but it isn’t likely to be any recent time. This isn’t the best time for WWE as they are going to be going slowly until the Rumble build starts around the beginning of the year, so hope for the best here. Let’s get to it.

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Starrcade 2019 – 12.01.19

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Starrcade 2019 – 12.01.19

So the episode’s description reads:  “Catch all your favorite Superstars competing at WWE Starrcade, a special event where both the Raw and SmackDown brands collide.”  Good thing we had that draft and PPV last week where all the brands collide for the one and only time of the year!

Live from Atlanta, GA

Your hosts are Tom Phillips & Byron Saxton

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Starrcade 2019 – 12.01.19

Starrcade 2019

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Starrcade 2019
Date: December 1, 2019
Location: Infinite Energy Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

I mean, it has been a whole week since their last big event. This is another one of those house shows that is airing on the Network in a shortened form. It isn’t exactly something interesting though last year’s show was pretty good. The two matches announced aren’t exactly breaking new ground but they could be good. Let’s get to it.

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems–Survivor Series Showdown 1992

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The SmarK Rant for WWF Survivor Series Showdown 1992 – 11.22.92

Wish this had been on the Network when I was doing these episodes of Superstars.

Taped from Springfield, in whatever state Springfield is in.

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby Heenan

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems–Survivor Series Showdown 1992

The SmarK Rant for WWF Sunday Night Slam–11.20.94

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – WWF Sunday Night Slam 11.20.94

Yes, it’s another USA Network special, this one building to Survivor Series 1994. And although they are traditionally two hours long, by this point the format was getting long in the tooth and so now it’s down to an hour.

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWF Sunday Night Slam–11.20.94

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems–After the Last Battle of Atlanta (11.06.83)

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – After the Last Battle of Atlanta! (11.06.83)

So they’ve found ANOTHER Omni show from Georgia Championship Wrestling, this one after the famous Rich-Sawyer Last Battle of Atlanta show and just before Starrcade ’83.

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems–After the Last Battle of Atlanta (11.06.83)

The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems–Great American Bash 88 (Greensboro)

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The SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems – NWA Great American Bash 1988 (Greensboro 07.16.88)

This is yet another show where the WarGames main event was thought to be lost back in the day, and then they released a WarGames DVD set and suddenly found it. And now they’ve found the entire damn show and put in on the Network. I’ve been meaning to get to this one since it came out last week, but there’s so much great wrestling to watch right now! It’s becoming a real problem for me.

Taped from Greensboro, NC

Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWE Network Hidden Gems–Great American Bash 88 (Greensboro)